Well, I guess I should have been expecting this. After a few weeks of consistently dropping weight, I've hit a plateau, it seems.

The number: 249.2.

I'm not going to stress the .2 pounds too much. I've been eating the way I should, and even got to exercise a bit more than usual this week, so I know that number will continue to fall.

Onward and Downward!

Well, the scale keeps on sliding. Not a whole lot, but I'm back in the 240s, so I'm pretty happy about that.

The number: 249.0.

Only a pound, but I know that the scale will keep inching its way along.

Onward and Downward!

I'm sitting alone in a hotel room in Bryce Canyon.

It's the end of June and I'm here to cover an astronomy festival and do some other reporting, but I know I'm going to be up until 2 a.m., so I'm trying to get my bearings, and a little rest, before heading up the canyon.

I don't want to turn on the television. Instead, I pick up my book, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I read for awhile. But, even though the novel was captivating, I put the book down, and for lack of a better word, meditated.

I was shocked because although I wished I had someone to share the amazing night sky with, I was also totally OK being alone with myself. I didn't need someone there to validate my existence. I was OK being me, which was a feeling I was totally unused to.

After having a fairly horrific end of 2007 and early 2008, at some point the heaviness lifted and left me with greater levity than I have ever experienced.

It is in that hotel room that I reflected on the current state of my life.

I had a wonderful family who loved me.

I had, for the first time ever, surrounded myself with wonderful, supportive, loving friends. I had finally, after nearly 25 years, stopped finding people who would allow me to victimize myself in a relationship. I slowly have shed those people from my life since I started my weight-loss journey, but I hadn't realized that I had gotten rid of them all.

Somewhere in the last few weeks, the self confidence that steadily had been growing inside me finally broke the surface.

I ended up spending nearly three whole days alone. I didn't even have cell phone reception. Yes, I interviewed a few people, but I was a stranger to everyone and they to me. I remembered what it was like to listen to people again, to people watch, to be perfectly OK with being alone.

It was an experience more liberating than I ever could have imagined.

And it's been amazing since I've discovered that confidence and liberation. Losing weight has been easier than ever. It's easy to be motivated to go for a walk or make the time for a workout. I would say I'm not caving into emotional eating, but I think the way I'm eating is indicative of my emotions: I'm truly happy. I've struck a wonderful balance in my life and I'm thrilled to have it.

For the first time ever, the face in the mirror is one that I am happy to see.

Onward and Downward!

I love the summertime.

I love that most of the time, it's actually work to convince myself to eat because the heat is just too much. For much of this week, I've been eating one meal a day and a morning and evening light snack because I'm just not getting hungry enough for a meal. (Well, that and the fact that my fridge is empty and I haven't found time to get to the store this week).

I love that I go hiking and walking around late into the evening because of the warm nights.

And today, I also love the scale.

The number: 250.0.

In full disclosure, I did get a haircut, but I weighed myself before and after, and it barely registered on the scale. While I always think that a haircut should shave three pounds off my weight, hair just doesn't weigh very much.

The number kept jumping down to 248.8, but I just don't think that was accurate. I finally got the scale to pop up with 250 three times in a row, which is my standard, so I'll take that number.

Here's to another great week, especially as I'm getting prepared for my sojourn to Malaysia at the beginning of August.

Onward and Downward!

Ah, road trips.

For me, they usually conjure up long drives behind the wheel with stops at fast food joints along the way. And something always seems to switch in my brain during road trips. I forgo the salads and turkey sandwiches for the cheeseburgers and french fries.

But this past week, as I was driving down to Bryce Canyon for the annual astronomy festival and to Moab for a friend's wedding, I was in total control over my food.

When I stopped at an Arby's, I got a turkey sandwich with no cheese or mayo. When I stopped at a Taco Time, it was a chicken soft taco with no cheese or sour cream.

And even when I had to eat a lonely meal alone in a sit-down restaurant, it was grilled, sauceless turkey breast and grapes.

I was pretty darn proud of myself.

Of course, my exercise routine was thrown out the window. But I know I did my best (and frankly, my last road trip months and months ago, I gained five pounds in a week).

But the scale behaved this time.

The number: 251.6.

It didn't budge. But that's what my goal was. This week, it'll drop again.

Onward and Downward!

This morning, all I wanted to do was tell my scale "I told you so."

After several weeks of holding steady on the scale but shedding inches, the digits decided to change.

The number: 251.6.

Yep. Two pounds.

And to boot, I lost another half-inch from my waist. Yay!

The 30 Day Shred is still kicking my butt, but I'm having a good time doing it. OK, good time as in if Jillian Michaels were actually in my attic and not on the TV I'd be highly tempted to punch her in the face. Frankly, I'm tempted to do so now, but my housemate would kill me for breaking her television. Regardless, the woman is still pushing me to sweat like crazy and get my heart racing.

The heat, which I've been preparing to complain about since the subarctic temperatures set in last October, actually isn't hurting things, either. It's a bit difficult to convince myself to eat much more than a salad or cold sandwich when it's blistering inside and outside my house.

So, I'm happy with my effort this week, and happy that the tape measure and scale finally reached an agreement.

Onward and Downward!

In my continuing awe of the insanity of marathon runners (read my deep respect for people with that much self discipline) here's a link to a fairly hysterical Onion story.

Yes, this is all satire. I in no way condone doing this in real life. But I got a pretty good chuckle out of it.

So, this weekend, I hiked Mount Timpanogos.

No, not the terrifying, pitchy backside but the front side with the paved path that leads to the awesome caves.

But, really, to me, there wasn't much difference.

The first quarter of the hike was alright, but from there on out, it just got steeper and steeper.

I went with seven other people. They were all from the newspaper. Some were interns who have never been above sea level in their lives. Some were good friends who just enjoyed a weekend adventure. And, yes, some were guys whom I find pretty dang attractive.

I've had the horror of seeing pictures of me hiking this mountain. Not a pretty sight, I promise. But my friends didn't care. They were there to root me on.

And let me tell you, I've found the real seven wonders of the world.

They were patient. They were encouraging. They were understanding.

While my lungs were fine, my heart kept racing up to that dangerous pace that makes my stomach feel like it wants to leap out of my chest Alien-style. So, I had to keep taking breaks to get the rate back down. Luckily, it never took more than a minute or two.

Some of my friends were absolute sweethearts and paced with me. The others would take a couple-minute rest to wait for me, making sure I had the water I needed. No one ever chided me for being the one to hold up the group.

And making it to the cave mouth was elating.

As I oohed and aahed over the flow stone, maneuvered my way beneath the dinosaur rock and clambered across slippery metal bridges, I was downright giddy.

A few years ago, before I started working out and losing weight, I trekked through the Puerto Rico rain forest. It was a living hell. I thought I was going to die. But after we finally reached the waterfall we were aiming for, one of my wonderful hiking companions leaned over and said, "This means so much more to you because you had to work so much harder for it."

That same thought was true in reaching the caves. I had made it, and I hadn't held up my group too much. (We actually got there 15 minutes before our tour started.)

Part of the giddiness came from me making it without wanting to die. The other part came because I realized what good friends I have.

Onward and Downward!